Ghana worried about unrest in Nigeria

Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Ahaji Muhammad Mumuni says Ghana was monitoring closely the unrest in Nigeria caused by activities of Boko Haram, Islamic militants based in Northern Nigeria.

He stated that whatever affected Nigeria would affect Ghana in a way due to “our closeness to that country”, adding that even if the crisis did not directly affect Ghanaians living there, it would still resonate in Ghana when it affected Nigerians.

“We are watching the unrest in Nigeria with a clear interest and a lot of concern because Nigeria is our big neighbour and when it sneezes, we in Ghana catch a cold. If there is any instability in Nigeria and they release about one million of their 150 million citizens to Ghana, we would be in total shreds as it were,” he stated.

Alhaji Mumuni, who expressed these concerns in an interview with the GNA at the launch of the Ministry’s press corps in Accra, described the situation in Nigeria as worrying.

He said although there had been no reports from Ghana missions in Lagos and Abuja of Ghanaians in Nigeria being affected by the attacks but added that it was extremely difficult to put measures in place against such events due to the nature of the attacks.

“It’s a nightmare for the Nigerian Government”, he said.

He assured Ghanaians that the possibility of the attacks extending to Ghana was remote especially as Ghana had not had any incidents of religious fundamentalism and Boko Haram was completely unknown in Ghana and did not have any interest in the country.

“It is inconceivable that they would want to mount any operation in our country for whatever reason,” he said, adding, “We would always say a prayer that Nigeria stays safe and that there are no destabilising factor in that country because whatever affects Nigeria is bound to affect our country because of the closeness of our people over time”.

Source: GNA